SFR Picks

Week of Feb. 21

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Why Would You Kill a Cat?

The philosopher Thomas Hobbes once said, "Curiosity is the lust of the mind." This is the topic that will be widely discussed in over 150 cities this month during lectures known as Creative Mornings. The host of Creative Mornings in Santa Fe, Meredith Davidson, understands the importance of finding like-minded people in the area to intermingle thoughts and ideas with. "The stories of our creative professionals today are the stories that we're going to be telling inside of our walls," she says—and is why she finds people like Tim Thomas to present at these events.

Thomas spent 20 years of his life at the University of New Mexico as a scientist and deputy director of the supercomputing and research faculty, but is now an astrophysicist at Sandia National Labs. At his lecture, Thomas connects the dots between curiosity and physics.

With regards to whether curiosity killed the cat, he says, "people use the phrase to admonish children to not be curious. In my own career, I have evidence that the statement is actually true," Thomas continues. "You can actually be too curious about too many things, and it could distract you at a practical level."

Thomas doesn't believe we should stop being curious altogether, though. "Killing curiosity in children and adults is bad," he adds. "One of the things that curiosity will generate is a passion for something; one of the most important things in life is to find your passion."

Thomas uses the popular adage to incite discussion of the famed Schrödinger's Cat paradox (a cat, in a box alongside a vial of poison, is simultaneously living and dead until proven one or the other) along with other questions about how curiosity lives around us. A light breakfast of coffee and bagels will also be provided to nourish your mind, and free food should be a good enough reason to make your way there.

When asked to consider the solution to Schrödinger's Cat, Davidson responds, "It would be fine if you weren't so curious." In the end, it's a question we might not be able to answer. (Juan Mendoza)

Creative Mornings: Did Curiosity Kill Schrödinger's Cat?:

9 am Friday Feb. 23. Free.

New Mexico History Museum,

113 Lincoln Ave.,

476-5100

We’re Gonna Have a Kitty Party Tonight

Let's all do ourselves a favor and just take The Rock Cats at face value: It's a band of actual house cats who take the stage to "play" instruments and "perform" for throngs of fans. Will it forever change music and how we think of concerts? Probably not. But it will be an adorable way to while away a little bit of time and, if previous Santa Fe appearances from The Acro-Cats, The Rock Cats' parent group, are an indication, this will be highly attended. And way cute. (Alex De Vore)

The Rock Cats:

4 pm and 8 pm Thursday Feb. 22; 3 pm and 7 pm Friday Feb. 23. $22-$40.

Studio Center of Santa Fe (formerly Warehouse 21),

1614 Paseo de Peralta,

989-4423

Good as Gold

While local musician Talia Kosh may spend her daytime hours lawyering it up (and presiding over New Mexico Lawyers for the Arts), she's been compiling kickass songs in her spare time for nearly a decade now. With her band Golden General, Kosh hits a fantastic middle ground between Cyndi Lauper-esque new wave and indie rock, a bit of something different for Santa Fe and some of the best damn vocals we've heard in a long time. Says Kosh, "It's very diverse and not like the songs all fit into one category—a couple things are kind of bluegrass, a couple things sound kind of punk." We'll drink to that, or at least check it out ASAP. Join us, Santa Fe. (ADV)

Golden General with Holy Knives and John Francis Mustain:

8:30 pm Saturday Feb. 24. $8.

Second Street Brewery (Rufina Taproom),

2920 Rufina St.,

954-1068

Mouse House

If you missed out on Lexington, Kentucky-based punk trio City Mouse's August 2017 Santa Fe appearance (opening for Scotland's Murderburgers), your chance to right this atrocious wrong presents itself this Sunday at the VFW. This band wails, a combination of throwbacky punk a la Descendents and relatively newer Asian Man Records-era pop punk for aging pop-punkers, skate fans and the heartbroken. Of special note is bandleader Miski Dee Rodriguez' heartfelt and aggressive vocal style, a great hook for the pissed off, lovelorn and all points in between. (ADV)

City Mouse with The Plurals and Curmudgeon:

9 pm Sunday Feb. 25. $5.

VFW,

307 Montezuma Ave.,

983-9045.